Race details:
New York City, New York
Bike: 40 miles
Race Summary:
Oh boy was this event huge! I mean they said like 40,000 riders and they weren't joking! There were 5 different waves and each wave was PACKED! I mean 4 lane wide streets with no cars and still packed for blocks and blocks. I mean the start was a big, crazy mess! But that kind of stuff also makes rides like this pretty exciting and gets you pumped early on!
They did have a nice feature where they funneled everyone into a chute at the start so you kinda get this feeling that the ride is smaller than you expect. And early on you definitely feel a little bit like the ride is gonna go super quick and there won't be tons of people. But you soon realize that's not the case. People catch up quickly and the endless amounts of riders makes it pretty crowded. Also, we experienced a lot of this throughout the duration of the ride, but the streets weren't completely blocked off. I mean this was to be expected in a metropolis like NYC, but they had to allow some traffic through. So I'd say there was a decent amount of starting and stopping. That was kinda frustrating for me and many of the riders we chatted with while waiting at lights had similar opinions. A common phrase I heard shouted was "is this a bike ride or a bike walk?" LOL
I'll hit the highlights below, but my favorite was biking through Central Park. You can do that anytime on a cheapo bike, but the road won't be closed off to riders only. I think that was super cool. Running through it for the NYC marathon will be even cooler, but I definitely enjoyed this part. Biking on the bridges was pretty sweet too. It's nice to be a strong cyclist and easily climb the bridges while others struggle or even walk their bikes. But the views from the bridges were spectacular and something you would rarely see unless you chose to walk them.
The biggest struggle though happened just under halfway thru the ride. Amanda was keeping up relative to her biking level and things were going smoothly. We came to the Queensboro bridge and since she was struggling, I decided to charge up ahead so I could take some pics. After not seeing her for a bit and having lost cell signal, I sped to the end of the bridge and then checked for her location. I saw she was still coming over it, so I just hung out and waited. When she finally came down, I saw that she was walking her bike. As she approached, I noticed the bad news: her rear derailleur was done. Like just completely bent and torn up, the kind of thing you usually see at Wildflower at Nasty Grade.
We hurried over to the nearest race marshall who said that the mechanics probably couldn't help us and we should just quit the ride. My heart dropped. We traveled across the country to do this ride for charity and now we're being told we should just end here. Not satisfied with her response, I rode ahead 2 miles to the next rest stop and chatted with the mechanics. They could try they said. By the time Amanda arrived and we got the assessment, they said they didn't have the equipment and parts, but a local bike shop could helps. This bike shop was just over a mile away. Walking a bike a mile when you know the SAG van is picking people up is a terrible feeling. But I ran the bike that far, got it fixed for a cool $50 and we were on our way! (This short summary doesn't do justice to the long detour that it was and that various dark places my mind went during this time).
The rest of the ride was just a battle of attrition for Amanda. Fatigue set in plus the weather went sour quickly. It went from nice and sunny to SUPER cold and even rainy at various times. We would push through, but it was pretty miserable and cold by the end. Even the post race festival wasn't that enjoyable as it was raining and the beer just really didn't warm you up.
The biggest bummer was that the ride itself was technically only 37 miles. Then you had the finish festival when you thought you were done. Then you rode another 3+ miles to get to the ferry back to NYC. And these miles were considered part of the ride but they were pretty lame.
All in all, a cool event with a unique experience, but something I probably wouldn't do again. I think for me personally, racing is the way to go and not just casually riding. I like to go fast haha
Some sweet highlights from the ride include
-Riding through Central Park, it's an awesome experience
-Biking over the bridges and taking in the views
-Biking down Avenue of the Stars and past things like Times Square and Radio City Music hall and the Rockefeller
-Biking through the 5 different burroughs and seeing them from a different view
Map and Stats Plot:
Heart Rate Zones:
If there wasn't a sign that this ride was super easy, the time in Z1 makes it obvious. Also, hate that these things have batteries and can shut off. Didn't notice it and so missing some HR data...
Garmin Splits:
Pics:
Took way more pics this time!
Starting line pics! So crowded!
Central Park! My favorite spot!
Various bridge and tunnel views!
Panoramas from the rest stops!
Finish line fun!
Post race noms at a NY fave! Halal Guys!
This is on here because it was just one of those cool NYC moments. We randomly decided to hit up a comedy club later that night to take in some laughs and relax. Well little did we know that KEVIN HART WAS IN TOWN!!! He made a guest appearance at the club and his whole set was full of laughs! He ended up going off to several different venues later that night, but I caught a pic of his drink that he left on the table. LOL. What a NY moment!
